This application claims the priority of 196 34 507.3, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates to a passenger car having a vehicle roof which can be lowered into a rearward structure of the vehicle body and which has a rearward roof area. Two lateral roof frame parts project from the rearward roof area in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle toward the front and flank and guide a roof part arrangement which can be moved between an opened and a closed end position in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
DE 42 03 228 C2 describes a passenger car having a vehicle roof which can be lowered into a rear of the vehicle body and which is provided with a stable rearward roof part and two stable lateral roof frame parts which project from the rearward roof part in the longitudinal direction toward the front and which laterally flank and guide a folding roof. The rearward roof part and the lateral roof frame parts are carried by B-columns and C-columns which are swivellably linked to the vehicle body. Lateral parts project downward from the rearward roof part in the area of the C-columns and are configured of a flexible material so as to be foldable. The B-columns and C-columns form a four-bar device for displacing and lowering the vehicle roof into a storage space in the rearward vehicle structure. As an alternative, when the vehicle roof is closed, only the folding roof can be changed into its open end position. In the lowered condition, the vehicle roof requires a relatively large space.
The Mercedes SLK Roadster has a lowerable vehicle roof as a two-part hardtop, in which the two hardtop parts can be folded together about a folding axis which extends above a rear window transversely to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and horizontally. The roof can be lowered by corresponding kinematics in the rearward vehicle structure.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a passenger car which has a vehicle roof which can be changed into variable opening conditions while the safety and the comfort are simultaneously increased, and which requires a comparatively small storage space for the vehicle roof in its opening position.
This object has been achieved according to the present invention by providing that each lateral roof frame part is foldably connected with the rearward roof area by way of a hinge arrangement. A securing device for fixing the respective end position is associated with an operating position of the roof frame parts in which these project toward the front as well as to an inoperative position in which these are folded in. Thereby, the lateral roof frame parts, which otherwise conventionally project in a space-consuming manner from the rearward roof area, are folded toward the interior in a simple manner for the opening position. This results in a significantly reduced required depositing space, particularly with respect to the axial length, within the vehicle body.
The folding-in of the lateral roof frame parts, the vehicle roof, in its opening position, achieves a compact size. The integration of a movable roof part arrangement into the vehicle roof, which can be constructed as a lamella roof arrangement or as a folding roof arrangement, allows the vehicle interior to be changed into a comfortable opening condition even when the vehicle roof is closed.
With its rearward roof area and the lateral roof frame parts, the vehicle roof constitutes a one-part hardtop whose stability provides sufficient protection against break-ins or vandalism, increased safety with respect to intrusions in an accident, a noise and heat insulation which is improved in comparison to fabric tops and a suitability for car wash installations which is increased in comparison to fabric tops. Nevertheless, the movable roof part arrangement achieves an increased functionality because also, when the hardtop is closed, an opening condition for the vehicle interior can be achieved. In addition to being configured as a lamella roof or as a folding top, the roof part arrangement may also be constructed as a firm-lifting or a sliding roof.
As a further aspect of the present invention, the hinge arrangements of the roof frame parts are positioned on the rearward roof area at a distance from an outer contour of the roof part arrangement moved into an opening position such that the roof frame parts are arranged in an inoperative position folded in at a right angle with respect to the roof center in parallel in front of the outer contour of the roof part arrangement. This is particularly advantageous and space-saving because the roof frame parts are folded toward the interior into the area which has been vacated by the roof part arrangement displaced or moved into its opening position.
According to a yet further aspect of the present invention, each roof frame part can be folded at a right angle toward the roof center to the inside. The hinge arrangements of the two roof frame parts are arranged in a mutually offset manner in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle such that the roof frame parts in their inoperative position are positioned parallel, i.e. side-by-side in the transverse direction of the vehicle. Because the roof frame parts are not aligned with one another in the transverse direction of the vehicle but are offset with respect to one another, i.e., can be positioned behind one another in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, the roof frame parts can have an increased axial length which simultaneously also provides a longer guide for the movable roof part arrangement. Consequently, when the roof part arrangement is open, a relatively large roof opening is exposed which offers a large opening condition for the vehicle interior.
According to a further modification of the present invention, the rearward roof area has two C-columns which are pulled in a wing-type manner toward the rear in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. At the beginning of the wing-type course, the C-columns lead into two cross members which are arranged at a distance above one another at least approximately at the same axial level and extend along the width of the vehicle roof. The cross members frame a rigid rear window which extends steeply with respect to a horizontal plane. The entire rearward roof area constitutes a firm component, so that the C-columns also have a correspondingly stable configuration. The wing-type course of the C-columns in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle toward the rear and the simultaneous steep arrangement of the rear window already at the beginning of the wing-type course provide a clearance between the wing-type areas of the C-columns. When the vehicle roof is lowered into the rearward vehicle structure, this clearance offers an additional storage volume and thus an enlarged trunk.
A further aspect of the present invention is the movable roof part arrangement being configured as a lamella roof. The lamella roof parts, in a pushed-together opening condition, including lateral guides, can be swivelled about a swivelling axis, which extends horizontally and transversely to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, toward the rear to the rearward roof area into a deposited position. A detent for securing the lamella roof in the rearward roof area is associated with the depositing position of the lamella roof. Swivelling of the lamella roof from its displacement plane to the rear toward the rearward roof area arranges the hinge arrangements for the roof fame parts still farther toward the rearward roof area and thus further reduces the axial size of, the vehicle roof in the folded-in condition of the roof frame parts.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, the lamella roof is provided with a drive transmission unit which has at least one coupling member which compensates for the swivel movement of the lamella roof parts between the open end position and the depositing position. As a result, the drive transmission unit, during the swivelling of the lamella roof parts into its depositing position which is inoperative, must not be separated from the lamella interconnection of the lamella roof parts so that, with repeated swivelling of the lamella composite into its operating position, the lamella roof can be operated again without significant expenditures by a corresponding drive.
Furthermore, the hinge arrangements can have axially symmetrically configured and installable lifting/swivelling hinges which, in a constructionally identical manner, can be used for left and right roof frame parts. This advantageously reduces the expenditures for the manufacturing and assembly of the vehicle roof.